In order to continually improve physical standards of living for greater number of people, it is necessary to achieve more results with fewer resources. Therefore there is the tendency towards building and manufacturing smaller-scale products due to the desire for size efficiency. Most recently, scientists have learned that not only electronic devices, but also mechanical devices, may be miniaturized and batch-fabricated, promising the same benefits to the mechanical world as integrated circuit technology has given to the electronic world.
In general, the benefits of miniaturized systems have been recognized but there is still a need for further developing the use of these systems in chemical reactions of heterogeneous mixtures.